Do you turn to God when you need to make hard decisions?
If your answer is no, then you fall into a small percentage, according to a new poll.
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Christian Today reports that prayer is actually used by more people as compared to those that turn to social media like Facebook and Twitter for answers.
According to polling company ComRes, six percent turn to prayer while four percent prefer social media when faced with a difficult decision.
The new research also discovered that only two percent would go to a priest or use the Bible or other religious resources.
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Gledhill, a multi-media editor of The Tablet, was surprised by the outcome of the study.
He said: “I was terribly surprised by how few people use prayer, or a book such as the Bible or a religious source such as a priest as their first or second choice to turn to for advice…
“And equally, I was also interested in how low down the list Facebook and Twitter and other social media come. Although the number who would turn first or second to prayer is very low, it is still higher than the number who would use Facebook."
“I think these findings represent both a challenge and opportunity for the churches. The opportunity is in the clear pre-eminence of friends and family as sources of wisdom when making difficult decisions, even in today’s online world. The challenge is for the local vicar to become seen as one of those friends that we turn to.”
ALSO READ: How to pray effectively
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Professor Stephen Bullivant, director of the Benedict XVI Centre for Religion and Society at St Mary’s University, Twickenham also reacted to the research.
“More people are likely to pray about something than they are to consult social media. That is across the board. There is a lot of research already pointing to how religious London is, and reflecting this, the proportion who choose prayer in London is eight percent, compared to one percent in the North East.
“Given the amount of time people spend on social media, and the amount of attention it gets, the fact that people are more likely to ask God for help in making difficult decisions than Facebook is really interesting,” he stated.
The study also discovered that 77 percent of respondents prefer consulting with friends and family while 51 percent turn to online search engines or websites.
Another group of respondents, 23 percent, voted for speaking to an expert when it comes to decision-making. The study showed that more men ( 29 percent) opted for this option compared with 17 percent of women.
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The study was mandated by leading religious affairs journalist Ruth Gledhill of Christian Today.
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